The Spartans connected for three first-half touchdown passes covering 40 or more yards in a 28-0 scrimmage win over Jackson County in Athens (click here for scrimmage photos).

Athens Academy dialed up touchdown strikes of 68 and 40 yards in the first quarter. An 80-yarder followed in the second quarter.

“At halftime, I told the kids, ‘I’m not mad at you,’” first-year Jackson County coach Benji Harrison said. “Because I don’t feel like we played that bad. It came down to about five plays in that first half and we dug ourselves into a hole.”

The Class A Spartans’ other touchdown came on an extended, 80-yard scoring drive in the second quarter, prior to the 80-yard touchdown pass.

The Panthers had their own chances to reach the end zone.

Jackson County’s longest drive of the night came in the fourth quarter and ended at the Athens Academy three with a fumble.

The Panthers also missed a red zone opportunity in the second quarter when the Spartans picked off a pass at the Athens Academy 10.

“We had three drives of 10 plays or more,” Harrison said. “For me, that’s positive. That’s very positive. We had a lot of steps on offense. We did some good stuff. Unfortunately, we made some mistakes that cost us, that turned the ball over.”

The two teams actually called it quits with 7:19 left in the fourth quarter after the Panthers’ fumble on the Spartan three.

Athens Academy has a game next week and both coaches decided that was a good stopping point.

“He (Athens Academy coach Mike Gunn) felt like he had seen all he really wanted to see,” Harrison said. “He didn’t want to risk injury and I understand that completely. We felt like we both got what we needed to get. We got good stuff on film, so now we’ll go back and make corrections.”

That will start with trying to cutout the big play.

“Defensively, we played good for two downs and then we may give up a play,” Harrison said. “Any coach will tell you, you can’t give up the big play on defense. So we’ve got to eliminate that. We’ve got to bleed slow and make them drive the field on us."

Offensively, Harrison liked his team’s tempo but said it must simply finish out its drives.

“I thought we did a lot of good things,” Harrison said. “Obviously, we didn’t finish, and it’s not near good enough, but there’s no doubt in my mind — we’ve got two weeks to get ready for Winder and I think we’ll be ready.”

That meeting with the Bulldoggs is ahead Aug. 31 in Panther Stadium. It will mark Harrison’s head coaching debut.

“So now over the next two weeks, we’ve got to go back to work and keep preparing,” Harrison said. “I told them the other day, we’re not a good football team yet. But I think we can be if we keep working.”

There ain't no fixing that, what I saw wasn't very good at all. Athens Academy is a single A school and we can have all the drives in the world, no pts. to show for it no matter the excuse is a disgrace. All those seniors returning and we can't muster up anything, its gonna be a long year. The optimism of the last 8 months ends before it starts. Hate it for the kids, but hope the AD and principal are held responsible for this and are run out of town. Same old JC, just a different set of guys with the keys. My prediction for this season....1-9 and I think I am being optimistic. I will start the campaign now fire Holcombe and Smith, they did this new guy a dis-service putting them in 8AAA not good enough to compete there at all.

Grey Kirk is obviously either billy or his wife.
The only thing dissapointing about Billy kirk getting fired is that he hasn't left town yet.

You can spin his 3 jobs in the last 6 months anyway you want but to say that he got promoted is a joke. Just like Kirk was Joke. They only reason that Kirk won any games around here was because of creative scheduling. He was able to schedule games that the deaf, dumb and blind teams could win. His teams never won a game in the fourth qtr and never won a game against a team that had a winnning record.

Whenever you are ready to move on with your life kirk, give me a call we have been taking up a donation for a moving truck for you.

By the way Kirk, you can root for the dragons all you want. We know you have been drooling over T for years.

Just wanted to inquire about where to send my check to foot the bill for the moving expenses? Matter of fact I am sure there are PLENTY of able bodied souls in Jefferson that would GLADLY pitch in with loading up the truck and bidding him FAREWELL!

Can't beat Athens Academy? Bet Coach Kirk could have. Just wanted Jackson County online readers to know that JC will never, ever, succeed with new coaches every few years. Coach Kirk was heading in the right direction. IMO

I played for four years at JC and started for 3 of those years. JC will continue this tradition trying to run a spread offense without the athletes to do so. Coach Kirk changed offenses 3 times and the spread didnt work.... This new guy coming in is just beating a dead horse and someone needs to realizes this is a power eye team. But until then it is going to be a long time before you see in improvements down in Panther land..

We looked horrible friday!!! I also played for kirk 3 out of 4 years at jcchs. He was headed in the perfect direction.Yea kirk changed offense a little much..but the last 2 years i was there it was spread and the year after it was spread..no didnt work the way it was suppose to but it was getting there. You must have speed to run the spread,and JC hasnt had that in awhile. Kirk was smart about the job at JCCHS, he began from the beginning. He started with building a team and helping us become one, JC football hasnt never been nothing but a everyman for himself. He built a team and then started to lay the path. He dug the foundation and started to frame it all together and just about had it built until the wonderful new AD came in(joke) and kicked him off(dumbest move ever.) Too bad kirk hasnt got fired from 3 jobs in the last 6 months. He went from alpharetta to hart because it was closer and payed more, but then was offered his new job at centennial because coach cole is offense corrdinator and they offered kirk even more to corrdinate the defense.so you saying him being fired is a joke,so dont say anything if you dont no whats going on. I like harrison,but if kirk was here we would do decent this year he would have been smart and went non region 2 years to win and let the team build confidence towards winning then entered a the region. Im a pather to the bone and always will be unlike these people who were pathers at one point all the way through school but now they are a ugly dragon(JOKE). We have about one game we might have a chane at and that winder and i pray we will do more..GO PANTHERS!!!!!

You mad bro!? While it is true that Holcombe is a complete joke, he did make a smart move in kicking Kirk out, because face it, people were fed up with him. He continuously said that 8-AA was where JCCHS belonged and all he could get were an 4-6 and 3-7 seasons.

And if what you say is true and Kirk is at Centennial, then my thoughts and prayers go out to every football player there. They need be ready for lies and incompetence from him.

And a final thought, how could anyone be proud of being a Panther. Not only are the athletics worse at JCCHS, but that academics are worse too. It must be depressing for Proud Panthers to know that the Dragons will get another blowout win over them again this year while also being smarter.

Kirk wasnt hated by most of the school. A lot of people cared when he left, if that was true then why did 90% of the BOE not want to see him go?? and most of the teachers?? how was he a terrible coach when every year it got better and better?? maybe not the recored but the performance and they way the team played together got better?? Some peoples kids...such jokes..

Sindel as far as "no one can at JCCHS" what a joke..NO coach can come in here and expect to be in playoffs in 5 years when the team has been through what jcchs has.. if harrison makes it to the playoffs its because of Kirk. Kirk payed the road for JCCHS!!

Actually he kind of was hated by most of the students. Just because a few like him doesn't mean that he was highly regarded. The team also didn't get better every year. While his final three years were better than the first two, the improvements stopped and the team stayed a bottom feeder team.

Also, I don't see how anyone can believe that they can make the playoffs this season. They might beat Winder-Barrow, Athens Christian, East Jackson, and Morgan County but that's it. Teams like Jefferson, Elbert County, and North Oconee will annihilate them.

For all of you typical JC fans or idiots from within the building that have no freaking clue what you are talking about. Kirk got promoted to an admin. posiiton and a DC job after his principal at Hart left to be a super. So you can bash the guy all you want all he did was care about the kids and community and do the best he could with the hand he was dealt. I had some issues with him sometimes, but overall the product he produced was the best possible for JC at the time. So continue being ignorant people and continue to show how truly stupid you are with your comments and know JC will be a loser this year and in years to come, look at the track record. Once again the prediction will remain the same 1-9 and that is pushing it and we will see when the dust settles where this football season and next ends up, I will saw a 2 year run there might be a 1-19 stretch, possibly 2-18 so go get em Panthers fans!!! you are losers, always have been and will continue to be and if it makes you feel better about your miserable life to tear down a fine man then go right ahead he can handle it and oh yea...I am heading across 129 and support a rea winner....GO DRAGONS, we will beat your butts by 50+ unless T feels like not running it up. OUT!!!!LOL LMAO LOL LMAO

Kirk did not get an admin job at centennial
he is a glorified secretary. he has no authority over anyone at that school. can't wait to see how centennial does this season. for their sake I hope they have a coosh schedule. But I fear that centennial will be looking for a new hed coach before long once they realize what poor decision making skills he has, hiring the OC and HFC from jackson co.

And what does it say about a person when he has to leave a job because his buddy the principal left. it says that he needed somebody to protect him from himself.

Billy Kirk was a liar and a con artist. He would tell a person what he believed they wanted to hear so Kirk could get what Kirk wanted. He bullied teachers (like Mrs. Read and Mrs. Cauldwell) at Jackson County High School, lied about just about everything, exaggerated his accomplishments and abilities, and raided the field house of anything he could slip out the door or encouraged his buddies to help themselves. (Of course, since every other outgoing coach has done the same, Billy was only following tradition in that.)

I feel sorry for that idiot, Coach Roberts, who actually believed the BS Kirk would tell him. (Coach as a title for Roberts laughable, Roberts is nothing more than a glorified equipment monkey.) If only Roberts heard half of the insults and slurs Kirk threw around behind Roberts' back, he might have seen the light and realized what kind of slime Kirk really was. Of course Kirk talked smack about almost every coach behind their backs.

Kirk played favorites on the field and ruined the development of several young athletes. His practices were a joke and wasted time. It will be a miracle if Harrison can undo the damage Kirk did to Kyle Daniels. All you need to do is look at the WJMS Football Roster and find the names that are missing now to see how many football players Kirk ran off for not being one of his superstuds. Just ask Darrion Rollins how much Kirk actually cares about you when you stop being one of his stud athletes.

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